News
Seyi Tinubu: Like Father, Like Son
By Ayuba Ahmad.
Oluwaseyi Bola Tinubu (simply referred to as Seyi or ST) is son of Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. At thirty-eight, he is a very unique personality in several ways: He is a maverick: easy going, independent, liberal, yet meticulous, cautious and calculating, and above all, so matured in the way he carries and conducts himself, both privately and publicly.
Literally born with the proverbial “silver spoon” in his mouth, in spite of his comfort and privileges, Seyi is however, not the typical child of the powerful and affluent. Unlike most youngsters of the circumstances of his birth, majority of those who relate with him generally testify that he is genial, self-effacing and far from being haughty, condescending, loud or brash. He is an energetic young man when it comes to facing tasks before him.
As a result of his being a member of the household of the Asiwaju of Lagos, the Jagaban Borgu, Seyi, like his father, exhibits ebullience and resilience when in pursuit of a given goal. He is especially zestful on missions with bearings on his father’s political projects and interests. In other words, he exhibits that badge of a comported, diligent and an aggressively ambitious and focused personality in his own business ventures and in the political endeavours of his father.
A lawyer with first and postgraduate degrees in other fields from ivy class universities in Britain and the United States of America, Seyi is, expectedly, suave and cosmopolitan as would be expected of one that is roundly educated. Thus, the confidence in his choice to blaze his own trail, to be his own man, chart a course for himself rather than the easy option of a life under the cozy and protective wings of his parents.
“When I finished Law School, I didn’t want to be working under my father, I wanted to get the respect of my parents. I had to become my own man, and it’s all due to how my father and mother raised us,” Seyi asserted.
Surprisingly, as against going into Law practice, or seek for a high profile blue-collar career in the banking or the oil and gas sectors, which he could have had with ease, Seyi, to the amazement of friends and relatives, decided to foray into the world of advertising.
His firm, LOATSAD, an outdoor advertising company, has, within a very short space of time, burgeoned into a major player in the industry to the point of attracting clients from among the nation’s leading blue-chips and multinationals. The phenomenal success was, certainly, the cumulative result of the goal-getter spirit of clear-sighted vision, creativity, drive, single-minded commitment and the other definitive hallmarks of the Tinubu clan.
At barely thirty-eight, Seyi Tinubu has similarly demonstrated the family’s attribute of charity, philanthropy and empathy towards the less privileged. While those in close contact speak of his open-handedness in his everyday life, his Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) – TELD and THENOELLA FOUNDATION, have for several years, engaged in activities aimed at, “improving the lives of the under privileged children.” Scholarship awards and “provision of strategic advice and mentoring programs” are focal points of the activities of the NGOs’ in which, Seyi and his supportive wife, Layal, are either the CEOs or Patrons. The Crown Prince of Nigeria, in what appears as his propellant towards philanthropy, Seyi once explained in a newspaper interview: “We are grateful for the privilege we have to be in a position to help and nothing will stop us from doing more. My wife, Layal, and I, do not take the prayers and support of our partners, volunteers and well-wishers for granted. This is because, no one can do it alone,” he stated.
So far, Oluwaseyi Bola Ahmed Tinubu has not come out on the soap box, adorned in the garbs of a partisan politician. But, with all in the household of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the matriarch of the clan, Senator Oluremi (Remi) Tinubu and his big sister, the political Amazon, Alhaja Folashade Tinubu-Ojo (Iyaloja-General), politics can be said to be an inescapable, natural way of life in the household. And, Seyi has been very active, in fact, a critical player, albeit from either behind-the-scenes or frontally in the intricate political battles of his father before, during and after the epochal 2023 elections, till date.
For instance, Seyi played decisive roles, before, during and after the 2023 presidential campaign of his father by leveraging on the networks of his vast social platforms to reach out to a broad-spectrum of groups and interests. The strategy translated into an assiduous and aggressive mobilization of a gamut of youths, the intelligentsia, media practitioners, grassroots politicians and clerics of divergent faiths across the country, including women groups like never before seen in the annals of history of a President’s son.
Apart from being the President’s son, Seyi has become very popular, partly due to the fact that he always helps those in need, especially women, the less privileged and the teeming youthful population of the country. Talking about his outdoor activities, Seyi is an “unrepentant Polo enthusiast.”
Presently, Seyi is networking with a prominent Christian leader in Plateau State and another influential Islamic cleric in Niger State in a concerted effort towards promotion of peace, unity, understanding and religious harmony in the region and beyond. In fact, due to his antecedents, Seyi can be ascribed to the dictum: “Like father, like son.”
After the historic triumph of his father in the 2023 presidential election, Seyi shifted focus on the task of building bridges and setting up and fortifying structures of the nascent administration. He was recognized and respected enough to be allowed to make significant inputs in the compositions of the administration and certain strategic decisions. Very pertinently, Seyi is said to be principally instrumental to the unprecedented huge number of young men and women in the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, especially as Ministers and others, as a result of the clarion call and clamour of Nigerians to shift from the old ways of doing things to the new.
In the same vein, he practically involved in strategic engagements and fighting along members of the “Brown Table” a close-knit group of patriots in checkmating the antics and acts of sabotage against the government of his father by disgruntled and ambitious politicians.
As it is so far, not a few keen observers of Seyi Tinubu believe that, while the president’s son has been playing the games of politics from the sidelines on a very serious level, he has, consciously or unconsciously been learning the ropes or testing the waters preparatory to his plunging into the vortex of real politik. The question one may ask is: Has he learned enough and has he garnered the requisite experience to take up the gauntlet?
Be that as it may, Seyi Tinubu has gone far down the road, clearly to the point of no return. In this regard, support for his father’s re-election in 2027 is, the real and critical challenge ahead of him as it is as well, a historic responsibility incumbent on all patriotic Nigerians. This is because, therein lies the way to the deepening and consolidation of the foundation of democracy, integration, economic prosperity and stability of our great nation – Nigeria.
*Ahmad is Kaduna-based Public Analyst and member of Brown Table Group.
By Emmanuel Kuza
A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Nasarawa State, Abuga Ovie, has described the name Ombugadu as a political brand, saying the popularity and wide acceptance of the name have made David Emmanuel Ombugadu a major force in the state’s political landscape.
Ovie, who stated this in an interview on Tuesday, said what started as opposition from some of Ombugadu’s biological brothers and people he described as fathers and uncles who betrayed him for personal political interests had now assumed a wider dimension, with political parties allegedly joining the battle against him.
According to him, the latest development was an attempt to undermine the political value of the Ombugadu name by presenting another person with the same surname, describing it as an indication of how far some political actors were prepared to go to weaken the PDP governorship candidate.
“Ombugadu is a brand, not a title. The people are not fools. They know their own. You cannot simply bring another person bearing the same name and expect the people to forget the political identity that Ombugadu has built over the years,” he said.
He further alleged that a former governor was working to introduce a political associate who had served as Accountant-General of Nasarawa State into the political equation, with the alleged objective of destabilising the PDP and weakening its chances by ensuring that the party fields a less competitive candidate in 2027.
“The plan, as we understand it, is to destabilise the PDP and make sure the party presents a weak candidate, thereby creating an advantage for the former governor’s preferred candidate. But all those efforts have proved abortive because the national leadership of the PDP stood its ground and refused to lose its best bet for the 2027 governorship election,” Ovie said.
The PDP chieftain said the resolve of the national leadership to retain Ombugadu had demonstrated the confidence the party had in his capacity to win the governorship election, despite what he described as attempts by some political actors to frustrate his ambition.
Ovie urged political parties and their leaders to resolve their internal differences instead of concentrating their efforts on Ombugadu, whom he compared to David in the Bible, saying he remained focused despite betrayal and opposition from those close to him.
“Ombugadu is like David in the Bible. Even when his brothers forsook him, he remained focused. Today, despite the people who have betrayed him, he remains focused and has a blueprint that can rescue Nasarawa State,” he said.
He said political parties should concentrate on presenting their programmes and convincing voters about how they intend to address the challenges confronting the state rather than expending their energy on attempts to stop Ombugadu.
“Political parties should fix their problems instead of wasting their strength fighting Ombugadu. Let everybody bring their blueprint before the people and explain what they intend to do for Nasarawa State,” he said.
Ovie maintained that the 2027 election should be about ideas, competence and the future of Nasarawa State, rather than attempts to manipulate political structures or undermine individuals perceived to enjoy strong grassroots support.
He urged the people of the state, particularly the Eggon community, to remain politically vigilant and resist what he described as efforts to make them settle for less, insisting that voters would ultimately determine who enjoys their confidence at the polls.
Reduce repeated references to Ombugadu
By Israel Adamu, Jos
Two hundred widows from communities across Langtang North Central State Constituency of Plateau State have benefited from an empowerment outreach organised by Gimbiya Gani Nandir Lar under the Jagoran Talakawa movement.
The outreach, held at Pilgani in Langtang North Local Government Area, was aimed at supporting vulnerable women and drawing attention to the challenges faced by widows, particularly those struggling to provide food, pay school fees and meet other basic needs for their families.
The organiser, Nandir Lar, who is the All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate for Langtang North Central State Constituency, said the gesture was motivated by compassion and concern for vulnerable members of the society.
She stressed that the outreach was not a political programme but an expression of love and support for humanity.
Nandir Lar said: “The plight of widows may not always make headlines, but their struggles are real, painful and deserving of our collective attention.
“This is simply an expression of compassion and love for humanity. It is not a political programme.
“Our constituency is home to people with diverse needs, including mothers, widows and young people who are seeking opportunities to improve their lives.”
Former Provost of the Federal College of Education, Pankshin, Amos Chirfat, commended the initiative, saying it had brought smiles to the faces of vulnerable women in the constituency.
Minority Leader of the Langtang North Legislative Council, Dirya Sheni, also commended Nandir Lar for supporting widows and other vulnerable members of the community.
At the end of the outreach, each of the 200 beneficiaries received a 10-kilogramme bag of corn flour, seasoning and N10,000 cash
By Francis Wilfred
The Special Control Unit against Money Laundering (SCUML), and the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN) have expressed commitment to ensure a full compliance with the Anti Money Laundering/Counter Finance on Terrorism/Counter Proliferation Financing, (AML/CFT/CPF) laws within the Nigeria’s real estate sector.
They made the resolve during a stakeholders’ engagement held on Thursday, September 10, 2026
The engagement focused on Mutual Evaluation readiness, risk-based supervision, beneficial ownership transparency, customer due diligence, internal controls and stronger collaboration between SCUML and the real estate sector.
Assistant Commander of the EFCC, ACE 1 Ibinabo Amachree, speaking on behalf of SCUML highlighted the strategic role of real estate operators in protecting the integrity of Nigeria’s financial system, particularly given the sector’s vulnerability to money laundering and other financial crime risks.
Amachree encouraged REDAN members to move beyond registration to ensure that compliance is embedded in their day-to-day operations. He mentioned the areas to include: understanding institutional risks, knowing customers and beneficial owners, identifying politically exposed persons, conducting appropriate sanctions screening, maintaining effective internal controls and meeting applicable reporting obligations
He, therefore, reaffirmed readiness to working closely with REDAN and other stakeholders to improve compliance, build capacity and promote a stronger culture of accountability across the real estate sector
“The message is clear: effective compliance is not just about meeting regulatory requirements; it is about protecting businesses, strengthening the real estate sector and safeguarding the integrity of Nigeria’s financial system”, she said.
In his remarks, the Chairman of REDAN, Lagos state, Mr Tony Kolawole pledged readiness to partner with SCUML in ensuring compliance with AML/CFT/CPF in the real estate sector to uphold financial integrity.
The engagement also provided an opportunity for REDAN members to share practical regulatory and operational challenges affecting the sector, reinforcing the importance of continuous dialogue between regulators and industry stakeholders.
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